USA
The military never had more than nine minutes' notice from the Federal Aviation Administration about the four hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, the commission investigating the attacks reported in its last day of public hearings. It said its findings showed an order for pilots to shoot down the hijacked planes was delayed. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the commission that "many phantoms," in the form of rumored terrorist activities, hindered emergency-response efforts. On Wednesday, the commission revealed that the terrorists originally envisioned a much larger attack, to strike as many as 10 targets on both coasts. It also said senior Al Qaeda planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had intended to pilot one of the planes, kill the male passengers, then denounce US policies after landing at a US airport.
The Pentagon confirmed news reports that it has held an unnamed terrorist suspect since last October without assigning him a number or notifying the Red Cross. Both measures are required under the Geneva Conventions and international law. The Pentagon said the prisoner would be properly processed soon.
A court hearing determined that Nuradin Abdi, a Somali charged with plotting to blow up a Columbus, Ohio, shopping mall, should undergo a psychiatric evaluation before standing trial.
John Kerry has been on a record-breaking $1-million-a-day fundraising roll since locking up the Democratic presidential nomination in early March, according to figures released by his campaign Wednesday. The campaign has raised more than $100 million in the past three months, closing what had been a huge gap with President Bush's war chest and swelling Kerry's coffers to $145 million, the most yet for a nonincumbent presidential candidate.
In a interview taped for CBS's "60 Minutes," scheduled to be broadcast Sunday before the release of his memoir, former President Clinton said he never considered resigning despite his impeachment for lying about what he calls his "morally indefensible" affair with Monica Lewinsky. He also called his economic plan his greatest achievement in office.
Sprinter Marion Jones, the nation's best-known woman track star, said she'd never tested positive for using so-called performance-enhancing drugs and wanted her name cleared. She spoke at a news conference Wednesday in San Francisco. The US Anti-Doping Agency is investigating her and other athletes linked to a Bay Area laboratory that allegedly distributed banned steroids. Jones, an Olympic gold-medalist in training for this summer's games in Athens, told reporters she'd like to testify publicly to ensure a fair and speedy conclusion to the USADA investigation.